......
"I'm not a bad person."
Leon looked at Hughie with genuine sincerity.
Seeing this,
Starlight, who had intended to continue questioning Leon, also found it awkward to press him further after he had sincerely apologized to Hughie.
Instead, with a look of surprise, she mouthed to Butcher: Are You kidding? Is he really Soldier Boy? Isn't he supposed to be a good person?
Starlight had never seen a super-human with such a normal personality.
And he's so handsome, how could he be a bad person?
He must have been slandered by rumors in the past!
Who knows~
Butcher shrugged, just pouting without speaking.
To be honest,
he was now a little suspicious of whether the information Mallory had given him about Soldier Boy was true.
After all,
so far,
there was no concrete evidence that Soldier Boy was an asshole, it was all Mallory's one-sided account, with no video or audio materials at all.
The era was too long ago.
Even if there were, they would probably be useless by now.
"Then, things like unprovoked assault won't happen again, right, as a good person or something... right?"
Hughie asked cautiously.
"Of course."
"Unless they bring it upon themselves."
And the criterion for this judgment was in Leon's own hands; he didn't say that the most perfect lie is speaking only the truth.
"That's great."
"Leon, thank You."
"Stark, You're truly a damn good person."
......
The Boys, upon hearing this, felt a huge weight lift from their hearts.
They even thought Soldier Boy was a good guy who could be completely brought into their team, except for Mother's Milk, who had a blood feud with Soldier Boy and remained grim-faced, saying little.
"Leon, I should apologize to You too."
Starlight walked up to Leon, a little embarrassed, and extended her hand, saying:
"I shouldn't have spoken so loudly to You earlier without fully understanding the cause of the incident. You're a good person, and You're welcome to join our team, even if only temporarily."
"Understanding is paramount."
Leon didn't choose to shake hands with Starlight; instead, he very generously wrapped his arm around Starlight in front of Hughie, openly embracing her.
"Uh..."
Starlight didn't know whether she should refuse or acquiesce at this moment, her hands frozen in mid-air, not falling on Leon's back for a long time.
You know, Hughie was still nearby, but it probably didn't matter, right?
After all, Leon seemed to just want to gently hug her, without any offensive further action.
As for Hughie himself, he had even less objection; at this moment, he was immersed in the joy of Soldier Boy joining their ranks, wishing Leon would hug her even tighter, and even wanting to go over and lend a hand himself.
Anyway—
Leon is a good person, isn't he?
Hughie's mental imprint of Leon,
was unknowingly established amidst the huge contrast in how Leon treated him before and after.
At this moment,
Leon just wanted to say: A persona is truly a damn good thing; even if only one out of a hundred fools believes it, he's still making a bloody profit.
"Oh, sorry, I got a little carried away."
"You know, Annie, I haven't met a girl in so long, let alone a good girl as cute, petite, and understanding as You."
After appropriately feeling the few soft spots on Starlight's bony frame for a while, Leon, with great discretion, actively separated from her.
"No, no problem."
Starlight said with a slight blush: "If it's just a hug, hug me whenever You want. Hughie and I don't mind."
"Yes, yes."
"I don't mind."
Although he inexplicably started to feel a little strange, out of trust for Starlight and Leon, Hughie still nodded in agreement very generously.
Upon hearing this,
Leon's lips curled up subtly.
How wonderful~
He actually said he didn't mind.
In that case, Leon wouldn't be polite.
Thus,
Leon and The Boys members almost all got along well.
Only Mother's Milk's injured World was born.
The key was that even he himself was a little confused: Was this Soldier Boy really the devil he wanted revenge on?
......
Watertower.
The Seven conference room.
Maeve had disappeared for a day and a night without notice.
Although it wasn't a major issue, Homelander, as her ex-boyfriend and current Captain, came to express his concern and greetings the moment she reappeared.
However,
when Homelander walked up to Maeve, he immediately covered his nose and retreated like a mop avoiding feces, then said disgustedly:
"Oh, shit!"
"Maeve, smell yourself carefully. I'm sure You've been soaking in heather-extracted perfume for the past day and night You were gone, You're steeped in the scent!"
"Are You trying to retaliate against Me by self-destructing like this!"
Homelander said furiously.
"So what?"
Maeve rose from her chair and walked towards Homelander step by step.
However,
Maeve's scent seemed to have a natural deterrent effect on Homelander; as she pressed closer, Homelander's face twitched as he retreated step by step, quickly backing up until he hit the wall.
"Maeve, You seem to have been a bit dishonest lately."
"You'd better not let Me find out You're working against Me!"
With that,
Homelander backhanded the conference room wall, punching through it as if it were tofu, then quickly fled the scene as if escaping.
Simply because,
he instinctively resisted breathing the same air as Maeve in the same room; the feeling made him nauseous, even... afraid?
'Heh~'
'A pitiful evil narcissist with paranoid delusions + a coward!'
Maeve sneered inwardly.
Then she raised her hand and sniffed herself... Strange, there was no smell. She should have washed very cleanly, so how could Homelander still smell it?
And,
looking at his panicked expression,
was he afraid of Soldier Boy?
Like a powerful Beast's special territory marking?
Maeve couldn't help but wonder.
Just then,
her phone rang.
Beep beep beep—connected!
"Speak."
"Darling, I miss You."
......
After connecting the call, Maeve's silence was deafening, but she then thought that this seemed like a good opportunity to verify her earlier conjecture?